The Circus Blog

NEW LINK….On The Circus Blog

Posted By thecircusblog on January 8, 2012

www.circustents.blogspot.com

Bob Cline has a sight that all should visit. It is up to date and informative. It can be found in blogrolls, CIRCUSTENT as well. My Regards to all. Ivan M. Henry.

Category: Ivan M. Henry | No Comments »
Tags:

James Edward Henry

Posted By thecircusblog on January 3, 2012

This is J.E. Henry, my grandfather, at the age of 49. Here again is another photo that I never knew existed until a few months go. I only knew my grandfather as an elderly man during 1944 and 1945 when he was at his winter quarters in El Monte, Calif. The most outstanding thought in my memory is him sitting on the porch with a giant pig tail Macaque monkey at his feet. He was full of old circus stories and I made a good audience for him to tell them to. I do remember him telling me of how they used to travel over the roads and sometimes along the side of the road. In the 1880’s and into the early 1900’s the Henry animals had to be herded from town to town, some times taking two or even three days. My Dad also told me that when he was just six years old he would help herd the stock and many a night had to camp over till morning. Grandfather started to build semi trailers for the some of the small animals and cargo. The wild animals such as lions, bears, monkeys and others were in cage wagons pulled by a team of horses. When grandfather first started out with his circus it was a total wagon show. This was after his father Robert Henry died. Then later in the 19th century, he used converted autos to pull the equipment.

Category: JE Henry Circus 1800 - 1900 | No Comments »
Tags:

Bertha & Arthur Henry

Posted By thecircusblog on January 3, 2012

This photo is of Bertha May and Arthur Henry and was taken in 1905.

First of all, I want to thank Donald Richmond, a distant cousin of mine that I did not know of until a few weeks ago, for this picture. Because of my Circus Blog, Donald discovered the rest of his Henry family that he had been researching for quite some time. He was told by his family that, many generations ago, some members of the family had left the farm in search of a new life and that they became circus people.

Below is the rest of the story:

Don, as I now call him, is a distant cousin from my grandfather’s side. James Edward Henry had several brothers, which I kind of knew about, but there were also four sisters that neither I nor my family knew anything about until now. As a matter of fact there were 13 children. I vaguely remember my father talking about an Aunt Mary and an Aunt Grace, so maybe they were the two sisters of my grandfather? This could be where Don’s family comes into play. I’m sure he will let me know as he is researching the other two sisters’ names.

James Edward Henry’s father, Robert Henry, was born in 1823. He was in show business somewhat, performing minstrel and melodrama aboard river boats, and in his older years, helped his son, James Edward, with a small Dog and Pony Show. They also had a Medicine Pitch Show, and later, the Henry Big Show.

I am told that Robert Henry’s father’s name was Hugh Henry. He was a “Tin Horn” gambler and could stack a deck in four shuffles. He also was a saloon piano man and singer. We also had a southern general in the Civil War in our family whose name I am researching.

Donald and I are still researching our families, however Donald has been involved in our family lineage for literally years. Until recently, J.E. Henry was the missing link. Most of what I knew about our family was handed down though conversations with family and friends, and for the most part, factual. But there was always a question in my mind about my grandfather’s age.

It is true that he died in the winter of 1945, just after the war. The question is – when was he born? My father and many others said that he lived way past ninety, making his birth date around 1860. Records do not show that. My cousin Shirley Henry and I were having a conversation about our family history, as I am in the middle of writing a book concerning my life and the Henry Family. I am thankful that I have the help of a professional.

According to Shirley, it seems there was an incident in J.E’s young life which required him to leave the country for several years. His father, Robert Henry, sent him to Australia aboard a steamship. When he came home in the late 188o’s, he took over where his Dad left off with the show. He then married Mable Chase Fairbanks. J.E. Henry was in his late 30’s at the time of his marriage. (I will elaborate more on this story at a later time.)

The photo is of my Aunt Bertha May Henry at age 5, oldest of the Henry children, and my Uncle Arthur “Bum” Henry, age 2 who was the oldest of the Henry boys. I am researching now their actual birth dates. Written on the wagon where they are sitting is “J. E. Henry Show Today.” I know this photo was taken in the early 1900’s. I am sure they were in the front of the circus parade.

Donald Richmond has provided me with four more generations of information and photos of my family I never knew existed. I always figured there was a long line of Henry performers of one kind or other from conversations that I remember with my uncles and Dad. Even though they did not elaborate, they spoke of things like it was yesterday. I just discovered Bertha passed away Oct 9, 1984 at the age of 83. Waiting now to get information on my uncle Arthur birth date. It is not an easy task researching family history, time has destroyed vital records. Here again I have to thank my cousin Don.

Category: JE Henry Circus 1800 - 1900 | No Comments »
Tags:

J.E. Henry Family

Posted By thecircusblog on January 3, 2012

This photo is of my grandfather J. E. Henry at the age of 39 or 40 and my grandmother Mabel Chase Fairbanks Henry at approximately age 26. The two children are Bertha May Henry, my aunt at age five and Arthur Henry, my uncle at age two.This photo was taken in 1905. J.E. had his circus on the road at the time of this photo. In those days his type of circus was called a mud show. I don’t believe the name “mud shows” was not meant to be derogatory, most likely the circus lots were always dirt and if it rained…. well you get mud. To tell you the truth I really don’t know where the name derived from. I have never seen this photo before until recently. Thanks to a distant cousin from the other side of the family, Don Richmond, for making these available.

Category: JE Henry Circus 1800 - 1900 | No Comments »
Tags:

The Young James E. Henry

Posted By thecircusblog on January 3, 2012

This is a photo of the young James Edward Henry. His age 28, J.E. was one of 13 children. Their names were Frank, Clifford, Mary, Effie, Maynard, Charles, Nellie, Grace, Willie, Evert, Carol and Edith. Their parents were Robert Henry and Nana Henry. I never knew I had so many great aunts and uncles. I have photos of Robert and Nana Henry. and most of the siblings which I will share later. There is one more distant cousin, Shirley Henry Biszantz, not to be confused with my other cousin Shirley Henry, my uncle Glen’s daughter. Shirley’s grandfather was Willie Henry one of the youngest brothers of J.E. Henry. Shirley H. Biszantz has a wealth of knowledge about our family history. We spent several hours together a few weeks ago where I learned so much important information concerning our family.

Category: JE Henry Circus 1800 - 1900 | 1 Comment »
Tags:

Robert & Nana Henry

Posted By thecircusblog on January 3, 2012

Robert and Nana Henry they had 13 children. James Edward Henry, my grandfather, was the 10th or 11th child. I have all their names in another post. The Henrys, with the exception of Robert Henry were all farmers. Robert did some farming in his younger days as well as raising a large family which in those days was very common. I was told that Robert Henry had other interests other than farming like playing banjo piano to make extra money in saloons. He also did some melodrama and later sold a little snake oil on his own medicine show. This is most likely where J.E. was influenced to get into show business. The Henrys go back another generation to Hugh Henry, Robert’s father. Hugh worked on river boats doing minstrel and he was a pretty fare gambler. The family originated in the Carolinas and generation after generation moved west though Tennessee, Missouri then Oklahoma. I am putting bits and pieces of information together as I get it… so there will be updates. Shirley Henry Biszantz, a distant cousin has been tremendously helpful concerning our family history.

Category: JE Henry Circus 1800 - 1900 | No Comments »
Tags:

Willie and Minnie Alice Henry

Posted By thecircusblog on January 3, 2012

Willie Henry and his wife Minnie Alice Chappell Henry. They are my great uncle and aunt. Willie Henry is one of the younger brothers of my grandfather J.E. Henry. In the 1890’s and maybe even earlier Willie traveled with Henry Bros circus. Willie was not a performer, but did work with the live stock and the front end of the show. The grand daughter Shirley Henry Biszantz gave me this photo of her grandparents. I’m waiting to meet other members of our family that are to visit Shirley in the near future.